They are both grand-slam winners, they
are both ranked number one and they are both 30-something yet that is
where the similarities ended as Serena Williams left Roberta Vinci
red-faced at the French Open on Sunday.
As the reigning doubles champion at
Roland Garros, Vinci arrived for the fourth-round showdown knowing that
she had the game to hurt Williams on red dirt.
Yet it was the 30-year-old Italian who
was left aching all over as she was given the runaround for 70
agony-filled minutes before Williams ended the ordeal with a 6-1 6-3
win.
Waiting for her in the last eight will
be another player eager to derail Williams’s pursuit of a 16th
grand-slam title, 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
That may well turn out to be Williams’s
first test of her title credentials as so far the 31-year-old American
has dropped just 10 games in four matches in Paris.
“The last time we played here she
(Kuznetsova) won, so that will probably get her pumped up. She has
nothing to lose but everything to gain,” Williams told reporters.
“It will be a good job for me to see how I go there.”
Like Rafa Nadal, Kuznetsova missed the
second half of the 2012 season with a knee injury and she warmed up for
the challenging task ahead with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over German eighth
seed Angelique Kerber.
Kuznetsova beat Williams en route to the
title four years ago but is under no illusion about what it will take
to beat a player who is on a 28-match winning streak.
“She’s been playing unbelievable
tennis,” summed up the Russian. “But I believe that I have (my) game and
my good days, as well. Let’s cross fingers I will have a good day (on
Tuesday).”
Lately every day has been a good day for Williams.
Sunday was no different as during the
opening set she had more problems controlling her figure-hugging,
ash-coloured dress on a windswept Philippe Chatrier Court than the
woeful shots plopped over the net by doubles number one Vinci.
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